Home at Last With Tan France: Primary Suite

Hello everyone, my name is Tan France.

You may know me from the likes of

Next In Fashion or Queer Eye,

but today I'm letting you in

on my most personal project yet.

The build of my dream home right here in Salt Lake City.

I'm gonna take you through to the likes of my spice kitchen,

my cottage, my closet, the exterior interior,

and pretty much everything in between.

You are gonna love it.

Join me, won't you?

[orchestral music]

Rob and I have been together for 15 years, maybe at 16.

We can't ever keep track.

We don't want to lose what makes us us.

And so when it came to planning the primary suite,

the main goal for us was to have our own space.

We want to at least feel like

if we can't go out for date night,

we've got our own space in this house

that's just about me and him.

[soft classical music]

[Tom] I am Tom Fox with the Fox Group.

And I'm Kara Fox, welcome to our office.

We are helping Tan and Rob build their dream home.

Yay, welcome! Hello, oh, Kara!

Hi, thank you Kara. Hi dear!

[Tom] Tan and Rob, they both have such creative minds.

We have both of their backgrounds coming together

in all these beautiful details.

[Tom] Our job is the fun part.

We just get to take all this great information

and just roll it out into the home.

[Tan] I'd been stalking the Fox Group Instagram

for a really long time,

and so we knew that they were going to be able

to execute what we wanted.

We sat down with Tom and Kara last year to talk through

every one of the designs that Rob and I had come up with

and then to see how that would work in real life.

Because Rob and I are not professionals,

just really passionate and really particular.

[classical music]

Should we talk about primary bedroom, bathroom,

how this is all gonna flow?

[Kara] Yes, please.

Look, every bedroom is really important,

but this is our space.

Like I wanna really make sure the detail is perfect.

But I want a section where we can just kind of close off.

Yeah. A little retreat

in the house that feels like you're out in the country.

But cozy. But cozy.

I don't want a large space.

[Tan] So I would love to talk about the fireplace.

I like the character of something

that feels a little more...

Charming.

Charming and not so cumbersome.

Smaller, yeah. More quaint.

[Rob] So it's not like a feature on the wall.

Is there a way to do a custom, like,

curved stone surrounding?

[Tan] We don't want a mantel.

So this for the bed, what if that whole piece

at the back were wood?

Like, connected to the wall. Uh-huh.

So it's like a built-in...

[Tan] And then the nightstand are actually

part of that back piece.

So built onto it. Built onto it.

If we have the middle section a little higher...

[Kara] Okay.

So it separates out the shape of the bed.

I love that.

And then when it comes to flooring,

something comfortable in there.

[Rob] Perfect, for sure.

So English carpet is dense like this.

[Tom] Perfect. Tighter, okay.

From the bedroom, obviously we then leads to the bathroom.

In the middle, he's always wanted a bathtub in an alcove.

I don't know if it's 50s or something like that,

but it almost seemed like there were three pieces.

Rarely one wooden floors.

Are you a messy bather? [laughs]

No. No.

Do you splash a lot? [laughs]

[Tan] No, we're not messy.

It's the ultimate luxury: two sinks.

PSA for you kids at home,

happy marriage means that certain things

have gotta be separate.

If we are sharing a space when we're away in a hotel...

Tan loves his stuff to be arranged just so perfectly

and he knows if they're moved. [Kara laughs]

So I can't move any of his stuff.

I am a little more haphazard.

I'm not saying that it's messy.

Separate sinks has what always worked for us.

Right, of course.

That's how we've stayed married for 15 years.

And that's why we need this bathroom.

Yes.

Perfect, we will create that retreat.

Basically, if we end up divorced, it's because

you've screwed up. [Kara laughs]

[Rob] There is too much crossover in that bathroom.

That's too much pressure!

[Tan] Yeah.

Thanks for the pressure. You're welcome.

[orchestral music]

We broke ground last fall.

I got to see it dug framing and it was the best feeling.

It finally felt real after all those months of planning.

All those months of permits,

we finally saw something real, tangible.

Okay, we are now gonna show you the primary suite

that I think is perfection.

We wanted something cozy, right?

[Rob] Cozy, definitely.

I don't like a wide open bedroom.

No.

Because then I feel far too exposed.

We don't like a big bed.

We wanna sleep close to each other.

I still love my husband all these years on.

We're both corner sleepers. [Tan laughs]

So if it's a king bed, we are just too far away.

Too far away.

And now I wanna show you this primary bathroom space.

We have our own separate vanities,

[Rob] which we've never had before. Never, never.

The space behind you is Rob's closet.

[Rob] This is my closet in quotes.

[Tan] Yes.

[Rob] I'll take up a quarter of it

and then it'll be Tan's, like,

ready-to-wear everyday closet, I'm sure.

He says it as if...

Whatever, you can't tell me that you're gonna

go all the way downstairs. I will.

After you shower to change your clothes.

Watch me. And then come back upstairs.

You know how stubborn I am.

I'm gonna do that just to prove a point.

I should also make it clear he doesn't have enough clothes

to fill this closet, so we may as well

fill the rest of it with my stuff.

Anyway, I'm gonna bring in the lovely Kara and Tom Fox

who are gonna articulate just how the design's

gonna go in here.

[Tom] As you guys can see, the framing just finished.

[Tan] Yes.

[Tom] And so all kind of the fun parts start to come in.

The plumbing, the electrical, all the mechanical,

and the windows and different things like that.

I love that you consider that fun parts.

[Tan] Well, it's fun for me. All the wires are out.

Sorry, I'm a little geeky about that.

It's just all the behind the scenes that start to

create the fun. Yeah.

But the bathroom, the layout as we've talked about,

the tub, it's central.

It just fits seamlessly and it's really balanced the space.

And you love symmetry more than anyone I know.

I love symmetry, but I love more than symmetry,

[Tan] is I love balance. Yeah.

So when you walk in a space, one side isn't too heavy

or there's a rhyme and reason to that.

[Tan] Yeah.

I can't remember how you articulated it,

but whenever you look through a room,

you want to see something...

He calls it his sight line. It's a sight line.

Yeah, so when you turn into the bathroom,

you're perfectly like symmetrical on this

[Tan] double door right here. Yeah.

But then also when you're sitting here,

you feel that sight line as well.

This Degone paper I know is going to go on

those walls outside of the closet.

But is that also gonna happen over the vanity?

We'll have the mirror built in

and then we'll have space on the sides for the Degone.

That wall will be full mirror.

[Kara] Yes. Okay, lovely.

It's gonna have a casing around it.

[Tan] Gorgeous, okay.

How do you like the paper?

Only issue with this, I love Degone paper,

you know, always.

I'm not the biggest fan of the sheen.

Yeah, I agree.

Like the metallic. Yeah.

[Kara] The pearlescent sheen. Yeah.

It's beautiful, absolutely lovely.

It's beautiful, but it feels a little too

modern for our home.

It's not what we're going for.

Little too shiny look.

We can definitely take that down to a matte.

Maybe a little lighter on the color.

Like a creamier color. Yeah.

A creamier color for the back.

Okay, I'll make note of that.

Okay, should we talk about the decor in the primary suite?

[Tom] Let's do it. Let's do it.

Okay, great.

[Tom] You enter the primary suite on this amazing view.

[Rob] View, I think is important.

[Kara] It's pretty special.

When he talks about the view,

he's talking about that view, like that view,

possibly the most beautiful view you will ever see.

It's completely unobstructed.

[Tom] Off to the side we'll have this built-in bed.

[Tan] Yep.

[Tom] You'll have the side tables built into the bed

[Rob] just like you were talking. Yes.

And then perfectly centered on the bed will be

this really unique, quaint little fireplace.

We're gonna bring in a really beautiful green marble stone

that kind of ties in with the wall covering.

Yeah, yeah.

Desperate to see that fireplace in real life.

[Tan] Yeah.

I think it's gonna be absolutely beautiful.

Yeah, and then this is one of my favorite

parts of this room. This was my idea, yeah.

Excuse me? [all laughing]

What, what? Go on.

Go on, tell me, I don't know what you're going to say!

No, I thought you were laughing about

the beam sticking out. [all laughing]

Oh, the beam!

I was talking about the balcony.

That's mine. [all laughing]

No, the balcony was your idea.

I always wanted a balcony.

I wanted a balcony.

Rob tried to steal that one.

I was like, Don't come for me!

So good. [Kara laughs]

[Tan] Although I know again and again

we were talking about symmetry,

I love that it's not symmetrical,

that we now have a balcony on one side of the house.

The fact that we will get to walk out of this

[Rob] every morning and have coffee? Yeah.

On that balcony is just a dream.

We've worked so hard on the design of this space.

I cannot wait to see it brought to life.

We could not be more excited.

[Rob] I'm thrilled.

It's gonna be amazing. It's gonna be spectacular.

Can't wait to see that come to life.

I can't.

Let's get to it, Kara! Let's do it.

[all laughing] To work!

[classical music]

So I am on my way to the property, the build.

I've not seen the house within the last couple of months.

Really wanna see the bathroom,

which has three arches for the shower,

bath and toilet closet.

And I also really wanna see the flooring.

Timeline has always been an issue with this build.

I need to be in for the holidays.

I've got family coming from the UK, I've got friends coming.

Everyone's already planning on being here.

I need to meet this deadline.

The deadline, we're gonna be great,

but I just don't wanna hurry it up and get it done.

I want to get it done the right way.

[orchestral music]

[sighs] Okay, primary suite, amazing progress.

It looks incredible incredible.

So much better than I thought we were gonna be.

Good!

But my concern is this.

No, you didn't let me finish.

[laughs] Oh, shoot, let's hear it.

We're still like a long way away.

[Tom] For sure.

I call it the bland to beauty stage where we're at.

Very bland right now, wait for a few weeks, beauty.

So the gorgeous stuff's almost here now, it's gonna go up?

[Kara] Yes. I don't need to panic?

You don't need to panic, we've got it, we've got it.

[Tan] This is perfect.

It just looks like a little thing we found in England.

[Kara] Right?

[Tan] I know it's not antique, but it looks it.

[Kara] It looks antique, it's so charming.

We're still doing the surround.

You'll see just a little bit of the black metal trim

[Tan] but then it'll be marble. Great.

How's paper coming along?

[Tom] It's on its way and there is a lot of paper.

[Kara] Yes.

Are we worried about the timeline?

We are a little stressed about it,

but I think once we get it here,

then I think our crews will get it up

and it's gonna look gorgeous.

This looks a little more finished than one other space

I wanna talk about real quick.

[Kara] Let's go. Let's do it.

Shall we go through the primary bathroom?

Let's do it. [laughs] Yeah, sure.

[classical music]

[Tan] My worry is this, Thomas.

That's what my mom says when I'm in trouble.

[Kara laughs]

Well that's, you're in trouble.

The floor's not even done!

Well, I'm actually glad you asked.

Let me show you what we did while you were gone.

[dinging sound effect]

Okay, he's a beaut, he's a beauty!

[Tom] Yeah, sure.

This is custom white oak, they're each cut

specifically 18 inches for this herringbone.

[Tan] And see the little arrow? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tan] We call it... It's centered.

Perfectly centered right on your tub.

Okay, no, no, this makes me feel better

because this, I knew was gonna take a while.

[Kara] And it did. And it did.

All we need to do is just do a sand and a stain.

[Tan] Yeah.

That comes at the very, very end.

We obviously don't want to finish the floors while we're

still working through the house.

[Tan] Yeah, are you concerned about this space?

Getting finished?

Don't get me wrong. Yeah.

It's gonna be like a buzzing beehive

with a million people working through this.

[Tan] Yeah.

The most important thing for us is

we wanna get it done right for you guys, so...

We want you happy.

[Tan] That makes me happy.

[classical music]

There is so much custom work in this house.

Hello Chris, how are you?

Morning, good to see you. Good to see you.

I went to Chris's workshop to see

just what the progress was of this fill work.

Okay, we're showing me what?

This is the nightstands for your bedroom suite.

We have two of them flanking the bed.

Okay, love.

[Chris] This is the scalp detail that goes across the top.

And this gets blended into the background of the wall,

which has wall paneling that's gonna be the same color.

Uh-huh. Same stain, same wood.

Can we talk about the hardware?

[Chris] This was the first iteration

of the mesh hardware that you drew up.

Yeah.

[Chris] Which we love, and we tweaked it

a little bit in real brass.

It had a little bit of a failure there, but...

[Tan] It's killer though. Yeah.

It's a little bit smaller scale too.

Yeah, it is, so it doesn't look comical,

it looks really chic.

[Chris] Right, and it has the hexagon and star pattern

that's gonna be common throughout the house.

It's gorgeous, I wasn't expecting this at all.

This was just to add some interest to the front

to give a little bit of a detail.

So it wasn't just flat? Exactly.

So we wanted to do something more decorative.

Add some texture to it.

Is this gonna be carried through to

anywhere else on the bed?

No. Okay, okay.

It can. Yeah?

Still not too late for that. Okay.

But that's not the plan.

So this is the rendering

and you can see where that detail...

[Tan] Oh yeah, I don't think it needs to be

repeated anywhere else, I like how clean that is.

And this gives, it makes it look a little more classic.

It could look too modern without it.

And one little secret here is this will

actually be a hidden drawer.

Ah!

That's looking like a detail, but it

will actually pop out. Mm.

You swipe it to the sides.

There are sensors in there that if you do that

at the right timing, the right sequence,

the drawer will pop open.

So I can put diamonds in there.

[Chris] You can put things.

But you've given away the secret

[Chris] and the audience now knows. [laughs] Yeah.

But here's the thing, you know, I do actually hate tech.

Is there a way to open it without a dramatic dance?

There is a manual override.

You have to open the drawer and reach in underneath

and you click two little paddles and it'll pop open.

Great. Yeah.

That's probably what I'm gonna do.

Here's my biggest issue with tech.

This eventually is gonna age out

or malfunction after a few years.

[Chris] That just happens. Right.

That's my issue.

Well luckily this is such a small drawer,

if it does, you can just look at it.

You don't have to use it.

And if it does conk out,

at least there's another way of getting in.

Correct, yeah.

I just don't want the only option to be tech.

Right, right. Great, okay.

More than happy, what else are you gonna show me?

So this is the reveal of the primary vanity.

Oh, that!

[Chris] Very Art Deco-ish, right?

It's Art Deco and it's wicked, that is so good.

Two-tone paint to mix it up a little bit

to emphasize the panel shapes.

And I even went through the effort to 3D print you

a couple of the preliminary designs of the hardware.

[Tan] Look how good they are.

That, mate, is damn good.

[Chris] Imagine the stone in it in the background.

The mirror, all that.

Gosh, that's nice.

[orchestral music]

[Kara] So I'm gonna be going shopping with Tan

to find some additional pieces,

things that make it feel like home.

I'm really excited for that.

Thank you. Come in.

Okay. Okay.

Should we talk styling? Yes.

I want it to feel like we took over grandma's house.

Yeah.

And we left what she had upon the walls,

[Kara] 'cause she was so chic. Yes.

But then we made it more modern with the furniture.

Is there anything here on this art wall

that you're drawn to?

I mean, I've seen your art wall 73,000 times on my feed.

[Kara laughs]

So I know a lot of what you do.

Which is why I wanted to come and sight the work.

[Kara] Yeah.

[Tan] Because that paper is relatively muted...

[Kara] Yeah.

It's so detailed, but it's muted.

[Kara] Yeah.

I kind of love the pop of that,

[Kara] 'cause it's more saturated. Yeah.

I think this is one of the most unique pieces

we actually have in the shop right now.

It's vintage, I feel like it's the right size.

[Tan] The decor I think just needs a pop.

[Kara] I will set that one aside for you.

[Tan] Thank you.

Am I right in thinking we're seeing something downstairs?

Yes, your primary bed is being made.

Downstairs? Downstairs.

The upholstery of it.

Can we? Yes.

This is the actual headboard that will have the batting.

[Tan] Oh! And then the pad.

[Tan] So this is the size?

This fits right into the custom wood bed.

Good.

[Kara] Okay, awesome. Yeah.

This is freaking me out. [laughs]

So this looks a lot lighter than the sample

that we selected.

What a funny way of saying that

this is completely not the color!

[Kara] This is not the color.

[Tan] The headboard was going to be this persimmon color.

It was like this rusty...

[Kara] It's a lot like your vest.

[Kara] It's like... Yeah.

An in-between of these two colors.

[Kara] Those two colors, yes.

It was orangey-rusty.

At least you can feel the texture

and how soft it's gonna be.

It feels gorgeous.

[Kara] Then we're good, we'll just have them

send the other color away and problem fixed.

[Tan] Okay.

[Kara] No, I'm actually not worried.

Actually they have it in stock, they'll send it quick.

Okay, great, thanks so much.

[Kara] Problem solved.

I'm gonna quickly run away from that fabric because

that is worrying me a lot. [Kara laughs]

[classical music]

[upbeat music]

[Kara] I am just thrilled with how cozy it feels.

We have the velvet, we have the linen.

I think it's just important to have some brass

or something that warms up the room.

I think the warmth that this room has

is just so cozy and inviting.

At the end of the day, this is really

Tan and Rob's bathroom.

The kids have their own bathroom, this is their space.

So we wanted to make it extra special.

[gentle music]

[Tan laughs] Well, here it is.

Your face says it all.

[gentle music]

Do you remember when we decided we wanted to do a built-in?

I know we went back and forth on whether this color

would work for this space.

[Rob] When you pulled out the orange, I was concerned.

[Tan] You were already concerned?

[Rob] Yes, mhmm.

You question color a lot.

Yeah, that's true, but it's perfect.

It looks absolutely beautiful.

[laughs] I wish you would trust me. I know.

[Tan] I don't know if you remember,

but Chris was gonna put in a secret drawer.

[Rob] Okay, okay.

He was gonna do this thing where you kind of do that

and it opens. Oh.

I hate tech.

I would be screaming and swearing as I was digging

through the drawer for something and this kept popping open.

[laughs] Yeah.

That's what would happen. That sounds like my husband.

And then, you know I love me some jewelry.

That bad boy.

It was a perfect fixing point.

[Rob] I know, I know.

Once again, I saw it all and I thought,

I don't know, this seems like it might be too much.

[Tan] [laughs] I know you said it was really gaudy.

[Rob] I think it's perfect. I think it's perfect.

[Tan] Okay, so.

Obsessed, gorgeous. Beautiful, gorgeous.

[gentle music]

[sighs] I can't wait for you to be there, me to be here.

And just gossip.

Now there's something I haven't told you.

So when we came up with the design,

so in the movie The Shining... [laughs]

One of the most terrifying scenes of all time

[Tan] is in a bathroom. That looks like this?

[Rob] And the bathroom has a similar setup.

That's where I saw that and I thought,

That is the chicest bathroom I've ever seen.

[laughs] I'm not feeling mad wrong in this at all.

[Rob] No, not at all. Feel great.

Yeah, I think it's absolutely gorgeous.

[Rob] The tile work... Unmatched.

[Tan] I mean the work, Rob, that they put into that.

It's bananas, and the waterworks faucets and stuff.

[Rob] Just gorgeous. Gorgeous.

Someone was asking me whose vanity is whose

a couple of days ago.

[Tan] Oh, have we not established that?

We haven't established. You know what?

No, wait, wait, wait, you know what?

I'm not even kidding when I say this.

You can choose whatever vanity you want.

No, I want you to point to the one that you have

imagined yourself at and we'll see what happens.

No silly, I want, because I'll influence

and I know you're too nice and you...

Oh no, it's okay.

I already know which one I want to take.

I just want to know if you also want that one.

And you won't care if I say that I want that one?

No, no, no.

I want that one. Okay, I wanted that one.

Oh, yay! It's perfect!

[both laughing]

You may remember that when we were at

the CS Cabinetry studio, we saw this and I liked it.

But the contrast was just too high.

And so we got them to change it to this color.

I love this, it's just barely there.

Do you remember the issues we were having

with the original of the stagonee?

Almost like a metallic sheen.

[Rob] Oh yeah, it was like this pearlescent color.

[Tan] It wasn't the right look for this bathroom.

So I'm so glad I worked with Matt

and we've got so much green, so much green.

I love this accent of purple.

Again, I've talked about wooden floors in bathrooms a lot.

And I know that it's not right for everyone.

But if it's an adult bathroom only,

why can't we have a wooden floor?

Yeah. It's so much warmer.

I wanna be able to go from our bedroom to the bathroom

without stepping from carpet under cold tile.

[Rob] And I love the color.

And the herringbone, it's so extra.

Yeah. Which is so not like me.

[Rob] Tom, Kara. Hello.

Hi!

Should we talk about how this bathroom came to be?

Yes, please.

[Tan] When it comes to the construction,

was it shockingly complicated?

[Tom] Uh, no.

That wasn't shockingly awful?

Well, I mean... [Kara laughs]

There was just a lot of detail

that went into so many different things, right?

Look at the cabinets, look at the arches,

look at the fluting, right?

The two-tone coloring on the vanities.

It just takes so much time.

And look at every little piece to create an arch.

I mean, they're such great craftsmen, right?

They're in here just cutting, cutting, cutting.

Measuring, measuring, measuring back and forth.

[Tan] Yeah.

[Tom] To make sure that it's just extremely precise.

Primary bedroom? Let's do it.

Shall we?

Okay, heaven.

[Rob] The dream of my dreams.

So when we drew this, remember we talked about

how we wanted stone surround?

[Tan] Yeah.

[Rob] And we just drew this up as if

anything were possible, if the sky was the limit,

what could we do?

I'm dying to know how that mantel was made.

[Tan] How did they curve it?

How did you curve the top part?

Just really carefully.

It's a big slab of stone, it has to be cut to precision.

It has to be measured to precision.

I think if we had a very large bedroom,

absolutely a big mantel makes sense.

Yeah. I think that is gorgeous.

And the perfect fit in a room like this.

Yeah, well and you really wanted

an open fireplace too. Yeah.

Which was tricky just by code.

Yeah.

And so I feel like this compromise was great,

'cause it looks old and antique even though it's new.

[Tan] And it's got the glass. Yeah.

That is so English.

I used to have something like that in my first apartment

[Kara] in England. Aw.

It's simple enough, not overbearing.

But still impactful.

[Tom] Like really impactful. Totally.

[Tan] Tom, I need to compliment you because look,

we had very strong opinions about every little thing,

but there's certain things we wouldn't have had

the foresight to figure out.

And that sight line is a star.

[Tom] I mean, you really have four, right?

When you enter the master suite.

Yeah.

You have the perfect one centered on the mirror.

Yeah.

When you turn to the right,

centered on this incredible bank of windows.

[Tan] Yeah. Out to the valley.

[Tan] Yeah.

When you're in the bed centered on perfectly

on the fireplace and then your last one to your bathroom.

So every place you go and look, there should be like...

[Kara] It's not a bad view. Yeah.

A really great ending to the story.

And it's achieved exactly what we wanted in the house,

which was to have smaller cozier spaces

without feeling closed in.

So it makes it feel large.

[Tan] Yeah. But in small spaces.

We could not be happier with this space.

You guys crushed it, thank you, thank you, we're obsessed.

Like you can tell we're obsessed.

Thank you, we feel so blessed to be able

to have done this, so thank you.

At some point within the next few years,

we'll start to establish that this is our home.

[Kara] [all laughing] Right?

You wake up like...

Yeah, just feels like a project we've been working on

[Kara] a long time. Aw!

We keep walking into spaces thinking,

Gosh, this is gorgeous.

And then reminding ourselves, Oh wait,

we can do whatever we want in this space!

[Kara] Yeah, he asked the team yesterday,

Can I wear my shoes?

It's your house now.

[all laughing] It's your house.

[classical music]

[Tan] I can't wait to wake up here.

[Rob] I can't wait either.

[Tan] That view.

[Rob] Oh yeah, 10 out of 10.

[Tan] Our first morning.

[Rob] Open that bad boy. Yeah.

Coffee on our white carpet, yeah, it'll be great.

[laughs] I won't spill.

That'll be me, I know. I know it will be you.

[classical music]

My marriage to Rob France is

the most important thing in my life,

and it has been for the last 15 and a half years.

This home, this space feels freeing for both of us

and feels like the start of the rest of our lives.

So we hope that what we've built here together,

not just physically but what we've built here

emotionally as a family

will continue on for decades to come

and generations to come.

[classical music]